Church Visit #3

Justin Lovett – Church visit 3

Church Name: Lawndale Community Church

Church address: 3827 W. Ogden, Chicago, IL 60623

Date attended: March 30, 2014

Church category: Lower socioeconomic demographic

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?

We arrived late. We walked into the worship hall and the praise portion of the service had already started. What I found different at this church, that I have not seen at any other church, was that the stage was in the center of the room (which was a gymnasium) and the seats were set up into for sections pointing towards the center stage; it was something like a boxing stadium. It was very interesting, and seemed to work well, except that it forced the pastor to turn around a lot. The congregation seemed to be much more involved with the worship and service. We sang one song, which, I think, had the lyrics, “Can’t get enough of Jesus,” and the congregation wanted to keep singing it. Therefore, we kept singing it.

What did you find most interesting or appealing about the worship service?

The congregations involvement with the message and worship I found most interesting and appealing. At the same time I am critical of it because the constant approval of the message suggests to me that the congregation was not thinking of what the pastor was actually saying and were merely blindly agreeing. That is my only critical thought on this appealing part of the worship. I found it appealing because the pastor and congregation were flexible, they were much more open to allow the service to be like a conversation and let the message go where it needs to go. The pastor is able to read the congregation much more when they respond, and therefore mold his message on the spot for them. Finally, The pastor’s message, seemed very informal. For example, he was telling stories and jokes in the beginning, but then in the last 15 minutes he laid down his message and spoke to the peoples heart.

What did you find most disorienting or challenging about the worship service?

The most challenging, quiet honestly, and I am embarrassed to say it, was that it was 30 minutes longer than the average service I have been to. I really like the whole service, but the length was probably the most challenging, but not enough to keep me from attending. I thought it was worth it to extend it 30 minutes longer than the average service, because I think the pastor used his extra time to create rapport with his congregation. This then allowed for a more meaningful transfer of his message at the end.

What aspects of scripture or theology did the worship service illuminate for you that you had not perceived as clearly in your regular context?

            Moving with the spirit. I understand a relationship as being malleable. For example, the major component to creating a living relationship with another person is communication. When a person is in communication with a friend, the communication creates a living outside entity that grows from the verbal and nonverbal tools each person uses. The outside entity is what we often refer to as the “relationship,” but I would suggest that each time we start communicating with a person afresh, a new outside entity is created. Each new outside entity is built in the moment and each person must be presently engaged to act and react to keep building the current outside entity. A relationship is built out of people regularly creating fresh entities together. I see the process of worshiping God to be very similar. When we are worshiping God, worship is not just a one-way tool of communication. God is responding as well, and we must be present to engage with Gods spirit, and how His Spirit is responding to us.